Learning. Art.

So a while ago I decided to start compiling resources for aspiring comic creators like myself and share them here on the blog. My philosophy on learning is that you don’t need any pricey subscriptions or giant payments. You don't need to spend wads of cash on school, courses, or even materials. You just need the will to learn.

Now, the backbone of any comic book is the script.

This script is made up of character dialog and scene description to be used as the basis for the artist to create the imagery. How scenes are described is largely up to the understanding between writer and artist over how to convey this information to each other. Some writers may describe each panel in painstaking detail, while others may only mention a general idea of what they picture the image to look like. And many writers use both methods throughout their scripts, spending more time describing key images and less time on nonessential imagery.

There are millions of stories out there waiting to be told, I can’t tell you what to write, but here are a couple of helpful resources to see how others have put together their scripts. One of the best ways to learn is to see how others have done something and then adapt it to suit your tastes.

Chris Oatley of The Oatley Academy has created one of the best guides around on how to write a comic book script from conception to execution. An incredibly helpful resource for writers just starting to write for comics and looking for an in-depth view on a writing philosophy that really works.

A great way to learn how to script a comic is to read a bunch of comic scripts. Read through these real deal comic scripts from comic books that have actually seen the light of day.

I’ve also seen some honest advice out there for aspiring comic writers…that it doesn’t hurt to learn to draw.

Hey! Don’t shoot the messenger here! I think that’s some practical advice. There are a lot of people out there with stories they want to tell and only so many artists to tell them. Art style and technique is largely subjective and brilliant stories are told all the time through very simplistic styles and means. Give it a thought before dropping loads of scripts on artists out there on the interwebs who are probably already dodging a lot of these kinds of requests.